- description
- # CHAPTER L. Wherein King Media Celebrates The Glories Of Autumn, The Minstrel, The Promise Of Spring
## Overview
This chapter, titled "Wherein King Media Celebrates The Glories Of Autumn, The Minstrel, The Promise Of Spring," is part of the novel [Mardi: And a Voyage Thither](arke:01KG8AJ8ZNB03D0FWFP362WQEN). It was extracted from the file [mardi_vol2.txt](arke:01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9) and is part of the larger collection [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW). This chapter follows "CHAPTER XLIX. They Draw Nigh To Porpheero; Where They Behold A Terrific Eruption" and precedes "CHAPTER LI. In Which Azzageddi Seems To Use Babbalanja For A Mouth-Piece."
## Context
The chapter is situated within the narrative of Herman Melville's novel "Mardi: And a Voyage Thither," which chronicles the fantastical voyage of Taji and his companions. The dialogue within this chapter reflects the characters' discussions about the merits of different seasons and locations, specifically contrasting the autumnal beauty of Porpheero with the spring-like promise of Vivenza.
## Contents
This chapter features a dialogue between King Media, Yoomy, Babbalanja, and Braid-Beard, who debate the relative glories of autumn and spring. Yoomy, the minstrel, recites a poem celebrating the freshness and new beginnings associated with spring in Vivenza, contrasting it with the fading beauty of autumn in Porpheero. Media champions the richness and maturity of autumn, while Babbalanja offers a philosophical perspective, suggesting that spring, with its potential, holds more promise than the waning beauty of autumn. The chapter explores themes of nature, beauty, and the cyclical nature of time through the characters' contrasting viewpoints and Yoomy's lyrical verses.
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- CHAPTER L. Wherein King Media Celebrates The Glories Of Autumn, The Minstrel, The Promise Of Spring
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- CHAPTER L.
Wherein King Media Celebrates The Glories Of Autumn, The Minstrel, The
Promise Of Spring
“Ho, now!” cried Media, “across the wide waters, for that New Mardi,
Vivenza! Let us indeed see, whether she who eludes us elsewhere, he at
last found in Vivenza’s vales.”
“There or nowhere, noble Taji,” said Yoomy.
“Be not too sanguine, gentle Yoomy,” said Babbalanja.
“Does Yillah choose rather to bower in the wild wilderness of Vivenza,
than in the old vineyards of Porpheero?” said Braid-Beard.
Sang Yoomy:—
Her bower is not of the vine,
But the wild, wild eglantine!
Not climbing a moldering arch,
But upheld by the fir-green larch.
Old ruins she flies:
To new valleys she hies:—
Not the hoar, moss-wood,
Ivied trees each a rood—
Not in Maramma she dwells,
Hollow with hermit cells.
’Tis a new, new isle!
An infant’s its smile,
Soft-rocked by the sea.
Its bloom all in bud;
No tide at its flood,
In that fresh-born sea!
Spring! Spring! where she dwells,
In her sycamore dells,
Where Mardi is young and new:
Its verdure all eyes with dew.
There, there! in the bright, balmy morns,
The young deer sprout their horns,
Deep-tangled in new-branching groves,
Where the Red-Rover Robin roves,—
Stooping his crest,
To his molting breast—
Rekindling the flambeau there!
Spring! Spring! where she dwells,
In her sycamore dells:—
Where, fulfilling their fates,
All creatures seek mates—
The thrush, the doe, and the hare!
“Thou art most musical, sweet Yoomy,” said Media. “concerning this
spring-land Vivenza. But are not the old autumnal valleys of Porpheero
more glorious than those of vernal Vivenza? Vivenza shows no trophies
of the summer time, but Dominora’s full-blown rose hangs blushing on
her garden walls; her autumn groves are glory-dyed.”
“My lord, autumn soon merges in winter, but the spring has all the
seasons before. The full-blown rose is nearer withering than the bud.
The faint morn is a blossom: the crimson sunset the flower.”
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- CHAPTER L. Wherein King Media Celebrates The Glories Of Autumn, The Minstrel, The Promise Of Spring